Separator for wells



O. A. LAYNE.

SEPARATOR FOR WELLS.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 24, 19 I8.

Patente 352m 16% JQZZQ mmmw Wyn A Z dy/76 MHZ/Mm 'OLLZN it. LAYIN'E, 'LQS AIB'HRELES, CALIESENXIL emanation roe. WELLE.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that 1-, Oman A. LAYNE, a citizen of the United States, residing at IJOS les, in the county of Los Angeles, State Lalifornia, have invented new and useful iroveinents in Separators for Veils, of h the following; is a specification.

is invention relates to separators adaptseparate fluids and solids and to presand and the like from entering a. Well or casino along with the Water or oil s. It a. general object of this inven- 1 to provide a separator construction och is el'licientn its operation and simple inexpensive in construction, the pri' I object o? the invention being the proon of a separator so constructed as to ipted to effectively resist, and remain pet-alive position against the pressures i "oh it subjected in actual usage. general object is attained by the dehereinalfter described. And tiere are oral other objects which will be best stood from a description of the device 'retoforc well separators have been used hicl1 an apertured pipe is provided with nor or se 'iarator plugs buttons. It ,:1 object of this ii'ive'i'ition to provide a "form of strainer plug or button and to a new oi fastening such plugs ms in the pipe. The construction that it perinitstlie use of a larger lug}; than has heretofore been possible, iousequently permits the use of larger and larger separating members in lugs: and further permits the plug and ating members to conform in curvature a contour of the pipe Wall, Furtherthe construction such that the plug, the separating members also, may be t? in thickness to the full wall thickness he pipe. I have found that one of the t cliective terms of separators is that Denying u horizontal slit or a horizonextending opening-in contradistinc: n "to a vertical slitor the like. New, in 1 to use such a horizontal slit or the and to have the slit or other opening llicient size to pass fluid in quantity, it necessary to make a butt-on or plug of considerable diameter. My invention has to f i irticulsrlv With specific construction .0 whereby the advantages of such a' slit or Wing are attained in a button or plug.

Specification of Letters latent.

l?atented J! an, 1m, 1922.

1918. Serial No. 246,572.

Further features of the invention are ease of manufacture; and, particularly, ease of preparation (if it becomes necessary) in the field. All of these objects and features, and others, will be best understood from the following detailed description of a preferred form of my invention, reference being had for the purpose of this description to the accompanying drawings in which a pro.-vv ferred forin of device is illustrated, and in Which--' Fig. 1 is an, elevation illustrating a pipe equipped with my separating members and forming a separator in accordance with this invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged exterior elevation showing asingle plug; Fig. 3 is a section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a section taken on line "ftof Fig. 2; and 5 is a section similar to Fig. 4 showing the apertured pipe as it appears before in. sertion of the plug; 6 a sectionsimilar to Fig. 3 showing a modified construction; and Fig, 7 is an elevation of the form shown in 6.

In the drawings the numeral 10 designates the Wall of a Well pipe. This pipe may be of any desired diameter and the Well ofany suitable thickness. Wherever i. Wish to insert a separator plug 11, 1 form in the pipe Wall 10 a 'cular opening or aperture 12 and then sci cn thread that opening or aperture as shown at 13. Tie aperture and'the screw iii; are preferably tapered? poring in r l'y. Tl 1s aperture and the threads thereof are preferably, in actual manufacture, made with a standard sized drill and standard sized tap-such as, for instance, an inch and a quarter or an inch and a half pipe tap-so that if necessary or desirable a pipe may be prepared and the plugs 11 inserted in the field.

The plugs 11 are to conform to the curvature of the. pipe Wall 10 and are provided with openings 14- t-hrough which-fluid may flowiiito the pipe. For the purposes of the present invention these openings 1 may he of any desired character, and the separator member or members 15 between them may be of any desired character. 1 prefer, however, in one form of device, to use openings which extend inw rdly and upwardly to the interior so as to prevent inward flow of sand by a process of separa 'tion rather than by process oi straining.

However, it will he understood that in this end thereby increasing to a maximum the hard: I

specification, and in the 'iollowing cluinis, l nieun the term separator to cover all kinds of SBPllIllllOll, including straining, etc. .ln Figs. 6 and. 7 I show openings ll in the form of slits Wider at their back faces than at their front faces; the bars 149 between the slits being wider at their outer laces than at their inner faces, the purpose of such construction being to insure that all matter which goes into the slots will find its wa into the pipe, mid not lodge in the slots and clog the same. In each form oi opening it will be seen that the opening extends horizontally across the face of the plug which. is of a contour or curvature corresponding to that, of the casing wall. The plug is of the full wall thickness, giving to the openings a depth equal to the full wall thickness elliciency of action of the openings wlucl depends upon their depth. The finished separator pipe bus a flush smooth surface, he'll: inside find. out. i

The peripheral exterior of the plug is tapered and is screw threaded as illustrated st 16. The plug is preferably 11](l8 by diecasting, the apertures 1 1-, or 14s", the screwthreeds it and the curved inner and outer.

faces 17 and 18 being; all formed at a single operation.v The plug is also formed with one or more superficial indentzitions'or peripheral notches as shown at 19 into which it portion or: the metal 01" pipe well is upset as illustrated at 20. lit is the function of these upset portions to prevent rotation of the plug, not to directly prevent inward and out-word movement of the plug. The screw-threads prevent outward and inward movement of the plug, except by rotation: and thcupsets at 20 prevent that rotation. The plug is made of a ('(jlhillll predetermined standard SlZjlI1 l when the pipe aperture is screw threaded to that certain pro-determined standard size (which it may be by using a standard tapered tap and working the tap to a standard depth), then the plus 11 will screw into the tapered threaded opening to a certain position and will then screw tightly into its proper position in which its inner and outer surfaces; are flush taper oil the screw threads may be such that the plug; will be tight and at the same time -niy be turned up proper position (with its openings in proper position}. With. :1 small amount of tsperund with the threads fitting; nicely, the plug will always be light when udji ted to proper position. There due to this tight srrewdihreu(led engagement, vorv little tendency of the plug: to rotate. lonscquently, there is very little strain upon the upsets 20.

It is one of the excellencies of this device that the plugs and their separating or straining openings may be made of larger size than has heretofore been the vase and that the openings may extend horizontally some considerable distance. Heretofore plugs have been placed in shouldered openings in the pipe wall. In order to'provide an opening with a shoulder all around, the size of the plug is necessarily limited-that is, the plug cannot extend very far around the circuniference of the pipe. Vith screw threads it is immaterial how far the plug extends in a circumferential direction around the pipe. No one thread has to be or form an annular shoulder entirely around the plug", as is necessary where. u shouldered opening is used. Consequently, I am enabled-to use a larger plug, make the plug conform in curvature-and thickness to the curvature and thickness of the pipe, and use larger separating or strainer openings than can otherwise be used; and I can make those openings horizontal. The use of larger plugs and larger openings gives greater straining and separating capacity and very' 'inuch reduces the cost of making the separator. i 1

It is obvious that the formation of the slots 14, enclosed at the sides by the bars i lwhich latter have outer peripheries conl'orlning to the contour of the outer surface of the pipe 10, produces, in said bars, a construction which is outwardly-arched With respect to the longitudinal axis of the pipe. I t is u fact that an arched-span between two fixed points ofi'ers the greatest resistance against pressure directed inwardly between saidpoints. In my construction the outer peri 'ihery l6 ofithe plug is sated against the inner wall 13 ot' the opening 12 in the pipe. In actual usage great external pres sure is concentrated upon the strainer plugs and this pressure is directed throughout the entire length of the bars 14", at the side of the slots 1415. But said bars 14E", being of outwardly-arched formation, transmit the pressure to the screw-threaded Wall 13 of the pipeapcrture 12, and thebars 14 are neithei bent nor distorted. It is obvious that, before the bars could be bent inwardly, they must first be twisted laterally. It will alsobenoted that the bars 14 present an outer surface which is of uwidth materially than the thickness of said bars, whereby the pressure receiving portion of the bars is urn-rower than the portion which resists it. ll will be seen therefore, that the bar cannot be bent inwardly, because it cannot even be stixiightenod inwardly.

it is of great. advantage to have the plug: in screw-lhrcadcd engagement with the well surrounding the pipe-aperture, throughout the width of the plug and s id Wall. Each of the screw-threads upon the wall co-operates with an engaged thread on the plug, to prevent lateral movemene oi the plug in either direction; consequently the more threads that are provided, the more the resistance offered to such movement. In certain instances in actual use, it is necessary to apply outward pressure from within the pipe, and it will be noted that the co-operatmg tbreads prevent the plugs being blown outwardly under such circumstances.

Various modifications of a plug provided with outwardly-archedportions, will be suggested to those skilled in the art, but my invention comprehends all such embodiments as fall within the scope of the ap pended claims.

Having described a preferred form of my invention, I claim:

1. A well separator comprising, in combination, a pipe having an aperture therein, and aplug in said aperture and of substantially the same thickness as the pipe wall, said plug being slotted therethrough, the portions of the plug enclosing said slot constituting outwardly-arched, bar-like members.

2. A well separator comprising, in combination, a pipe having an aperture therein, a plug seated in said aperture and provided with elongated openings, the portions of the plug enclosing said openings constituting outwardly-arched bar-like members and means on the plug, cgoperating with means carried by the pipe, for holding said plug against lateral movement in either direction, with respect to said pipe.

3. A separator for well pipes comprising a slotted, plug having a main body portion adapted to conform to the contour of the outer surface of the pipe to which it is fitted, portions of said plug being outwardlyarchcd with respect to the longitudinal axis of the pipe, and constituting separated barlike members adapted to transmitto the pipe wall and substantially circumferentially thereof, inward pressure applied. to said portions.

4. As a new article of manufacture, a separator plug for well pipes, shaped to conform to the outer surface of the pipe, and

provided with elongated slot-like openings,

the portions of the pipe coming between openings constituting outwardly-arched,

bar-like members, substantially as described.

5. A well separator comprising, in combination. a pipe having an opening therein, a plug fitted into said opening and provided with a slot or slots affording communication between the outside and inside of said pipe, and outwardly-arched 'members enclosing said slot or slots on each side, said members being adapted to bear against the edge of the wall enclosing the opening in the pipe, when external pressure is applied to the members, substantially as described.

6. A well separator comprising in combination, a pipe having an aperture therein and a plug in said aperture, said plug being of substantially the same thickness as t pipe wall and having a curved outside sur face conforming to the outside surface or" the pipe wall, and elongated slots through the plug which extend substantially in the direction of curvature and circmnferentially 0f the pipe, the portions of the plug coming between slots constituting outwardly-arched, bar-like members.

7. A well separator comprising in combination, a pipehaving an inwardly tapering aperture therein and a correspondingly substantially to the curvature of'the pipe wall, and elongated slots through the plug which extend in the direction of curvature and circumferentially of the pipe, the portions of the plug coming between slots constituting outwardly arched bar-like members.

9. As a new article of manufacture, a separator plug for well pipes of substantially the same thickness as the wall of the pipe and curved to conform to the outside curvature of the pipe and provided with elongated, slot-like openings extending substantially in the direction of curvature, the portions of the plug coming between slots constituting outwardly-arched bar-like members. r 10. As a new article of manufacture, a separator plug for well pipes of substantially the thickness of the wall of the pipe, said plug being provided with elongated, slot-like openings extending substantially in the direction of the pipe curvature, the portions of the plug coming between slots constituting outwardly s arched bar like members.

- 11. A well separator comprising, in combination, a pipe having an aperture therein, a plug seated in said aperture, and elongated openings extending through the plug, the portions of the plug enclosing said openings being outwardly-arched and of greater thickness than width, substantially as described, and for the purpose set forth.

In witness that I claim the foregoing l have hereunto subscribed my name this 13th day of July, 1918.

OLLYN A. LAYNE.

ios 

